Page 55 of The Marriage Contract

He grabs his phone, taps a few times, then shows me the screen. I gasp, instinct trying to make me look away, but I force myself to stare at the screen. I won’t cringe from this life. I won’t hide whenhehas to face it.

“Jesus Christ,” I whisper.

“It’s not even a closeup,” Dario growls. “Do you see why I have to do this?”

“Yes,” I say. “They would’ve done that to me.”

“Or worse, and sure, I got carried away. I let my savage side win, but it was either the savage in me or the savage inthem.”

I sink against him, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders and standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. He moans and pulls me even closer, and then he stops the kiss, shuddering. “I have to leave.”

“Are you going to be safe?”

“I’m going to do my best,” he grunts, “but I won’t lie. Every time we roll out like this, even if we have the advantage, there’s a chance I won’t return.”

“Dario,” I say, my voice quivering. How could I have been so selfish? I’ve been so worried about whathe’lldo to his enemies. I never stopped to think about whattheymight do to him. “Promise you’ll come back to me. Promise you won’t leave me.”

“I can’t promise that,” he snaps. “I wish I could. I wish this were easy, but I’m rolling out to kill an armed, dangerous bastard. He still has men loyal to him. It doesn’t matter how tough a man is. A bullet’s a bullet.”

“Then send your men,” I whisper.

Pride swells in me when his expression turns to disgust. “Send my men but stay behind myself? No. Damn. Way. I won’t risk them while sitting pretty in a safe house with the woman I love. It’s not fair.”

“The woman you …”

When his cell phone rings again, he surges against me for one final kiss. It’s our most passionate yet, somehow healing all the rifts between us, all the pain. Then he turns away and answers his phone. His tone and demeanor instantly change to Mafia boss. “Speak,” he growls into his cell.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

DARIO

Allessio, Paolo, and I sit in the car across the street from Vincenzo’s hideout. He moved from his girlfriend’s place to a bar on the outskirts of the city, most likely to plan his counterattack on the Family. As I sit here, my gun in my hand, I try not to think about my woman in the safe house. I try not to think about the softness growing in my heart, this warm feeling flowing through me. I try not to think that it could all end here.

“Are you good, Dario?” Paolo asks.

“Of course, he is,” Allessio grunts. “You never have to ask him that.”

“Just waiting for the gunfire to start,” I grunt.

“Your old man has given the okay on this?” Paolo asks.

“What’s with you?” Allessio asks Paolo.

“It’s fine,” I tell him. “Paolo’s being prudent. He’s never seen me like this before. He probably didn’t know I was human before Elena came along.”

“I wouldn’t put it in those words,” Paolo says, “but we need you sharp. Or we can send the troops in, and you can lead from the rear. No shame in that, boss.”

I tighten the straps of my Kevlar vest, shaking my head. “Salvatore Moretti isn’t happy about this situation, but he agrees the Romanos must go. As for leading from behind? Fuck that.”

I remember how tragically desperate and beautiful Elena looked when she suggested the same. I almost agreed with her momentarily and told her I should stay with her. I could be holding her right now, gently trailing my hands through her hair, feeling her heartbeat against mine as we wait for news of the Romanos.

Dammit, I shouldn’t even be thinking of her. I should be focused because this could end badly for me. I feel my usual cold-blooded confidence. For the first time in my life, I’m riding out with something to lose. Even the farmhouse didn’t feel like this; I fought tosaveElena. Now, I’m risking my relationship with her.

“What’re you thinking, Dario?” Allessio asks.

“I’m wondering what my father will say when he learns who Elena really is and that I still want to marry her.”

“Damn,” Allessio says with a grin. “You move fast.”

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